Herdsmen by a fire

We know of around 20 night scenes by the Delft artist Leonaert Bramer painted on slate, a highly unusual support. Thanks to the picture's excellent condition one can easily see how the artist created his light reflections with a few simple strokes, while in the shadowed areas indicating the contours with touches of black. The virtuoso construction of the forms in this painting recalls Bramer's Herdsmen by a campfire (private collection, Milwaukee) and Resting soldiers (Museum Bredius, The Hague), which is dated to 1626.